Horse club

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

I wanna ride and spend more time with my sweet boy, but this weather makes it impossible
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I know that feeling. It’s the same here

 

[Peaches Lee]

Same here, I want to play with my ponies but it's so cold and there is snow everywhere!

Slippery snow....there's a crust of ice on top and soft crystals beneath! I fell down last night retrieving one of my naughty hens from roosting in the wrong place!

All you want to do is get your chores done and come inside and get warm again!

 

[littledog]

Bumping this thread, because I see a lot of new riders and hopeful future horse owners making new threads to ask questions, and it would be more educational, as well as more fun, to get all the horsey people in one place talking to each other.

My latest horsey issue is about blankets and rain sheets, ugh! I own 11 blankets (!!!!) for two horses, most of them patched, several of them almost totally made out of patches, like an old-fashioned quilt but not at all beautiful, LOL.
I had a big pile that needed repair, finally gave up doing them all myself and sent off the worst ones to a service that picks up blankets from our barn and does washing, waterproofing and repair. The others that just needed a patch or two, I finally quit procrastinating and patched them.

Finally! All my horses' blankets and rain sheets were in good condition! Unfortunately, all it took was to put them on my horses for a couple days, to get them ripped up again. My gelding used to be the worst for wrecking blankets, especially when he was turned out with a youngster and all they did was run around and play, grabbing and ripping each others' blankets. I felt so bad for the youngster's owner, I gave her a blanket that was too small for mine but fit her horse.

Now, it's my mare who's the expert blanket destroyer. She's turned out with two other mares, all of whom love the game of "me grab your blanket and you run away." One week after having all the blankets clean and in good shape, two are now ripped again.

Some might ask (and I ask myself this as well) why keep patching the same rags? Why not invest in just a couple really good blankets that are indestructible? The answer is, I believed that's what I was doing, and that's why I ended up with 11 blankets for two horses! LOL!

 

[Dawnwolf1234]

You guys got any advice for someone who wants to start jumping? I’ve never rode english but I have jumped bareback before but let’s not talk about how horrible that looked.

 

[Skye'sDucks]

You guys got any advice for someone who wants to start jumping? I’ve never rode english but I have jumped bareback before but let’s not talk about how horrible that looked.

I don't ride english or jump either, so maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in, but my sister jumps. I know my trainer started her on small cross rails at a trot, and it is also important to know your 'jumping position' of two point. The other thing I know you need to do is count your steps/strides to get the timing right. So I think it's good to start small and slow and work your way up!

 

[Dawnwolf1234]

I don't ride english or jump either, so maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in, but my sister jumps. I know my trainer started her on small cross rails at a trot, and it is also important to know your 'jumping position' of two point. The other thing I know you need to do is count your steps/strides to get the timing right. So I think it's good to start small and slow and work your way up!

Thank you! Yeah I have been watching YouTube videos of people jumping and I notice the different positions and them counting or making bigger or smaller strides. Also any advice on getting my horse to jump because he has a hard time not running off at the last minute. I’ve just been walking over poles with him but I started to put them higher and he wouldn’t go over them and if he did he would start bucking lol.

 

[Peaches Lee]

@littledog That is a lot of blankets! Last year I gave a bunch of my tattered/ripped ones away--was just sick of the hoard! Of course my expensive blanket got some mice nibbles on it too--what are my barn cats doing anyway!?

It's officially mud season here and I hate it. My boy was playing with his jollyball and slipped on the mud and totally wiped out--made me cringe and he was a little depressed afterward. He extended his back leg completely when he fell--I was just praying there was no injury to his stifle or meniscus! Luckily, he seems perfectly fine!

@Dawnwolf1234 I would start by getting some English lessons--familiarize yourself with the tack, the shorter stirrup length etc. And the instructor can help you develop the proper seat to prepare you to have success over jumps. Good luck to you in your new journey!

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Thank you! Yeah I have been watching YouTube videos of people jumping and I notice the different positions and them counting or making bigger or smaller strides. Also any advice on getting my horse to jump because he has a hard time not running off at the last minute. I’ve just been walking over poles with him but I started to put them higher and he wouldn’t go over them and if he did he would start bucking lol.

Yeah!

I would definitely keep walking and trotting him over poles, the other thing is to trot over raised poles as well which may help. It's also helpful to show them the jump before hand or even have him walk over it (for short cross rails or jumps). I'm not really experienced, again, with jumping or english but I have watched my sister so I know a few basics lol. She rides this one gelding who doesn't like to jump a lot of the time, he ducks out too. But a lot of it is just who he is--he was mostly a saddle seat horse and now that he's in his 20s it's pretty difficult to teach him it now. She mostly tries to get him to at least go over ground poles and so I know doing a lot of pole work before trying any jumps will probably help your horse too, particularly raised poles since it isn't a jump but still a little taller. Maybe I'm wrong or someone else can add more insight--but that's what I know aha.

I also totally agree with Peaches Lee to get both you and your horse familiar with english riding as well--that'll help you prepare too!

 

[Dawnwolf1234]

Yeah!

I would definitely keep walking and trotting him over poles, the other thing is to trot over raised poles as well which may help. It's also helpful to show them the jump before hand or even have him walk over it (for short cross rails or jumps). I'm not really experienced, again, with jumping or english but I have watched my sister so I know a few basics lol. She rides this one gelding who doesn't like to jump a lot of the time, he ducks out too. But a lot of it is just who he is--he was mostly a saddle seat horse and now that he's in his 20s it's pretty difficult to teach him it now. She mostly tries to get him to at least go over ground poles and so I know doing a lot of pole work before trying any jumps will probably help your horse too, particularly raised poles since it isn't a jump but still a little taller. Maybe I'm wrong or someone else can add more insight--but that's what I know aha.

I also totally agree with Peaches Lee to get both you and your horse familiar with english riding as well--that'll help you prepare too!

Thanks for the advice!!

 

[Dawnwolf1234]

@littledog That is a lot of blankets! Last year I gave a bunch of my tattered/ripped ones away--was just sick of the hoard! Of course my expensive blanket got some mice nibbles on it too--what are my barn cats doing anyway!?

It's officially mud season here and I hate it. My boy was playing with his jollyball and slipped on the mud and totally wiped out--made me cringe and he was a little depressed afterward. He extended his back leg completely when he fell--I was just praying there was no injury to his stifle or meniscus! Luckily, he seems perfectly fine!

@Dawnwolf1234 I would start by getting some English lessons--familiarize yourself with the tack, the shorter stirrup length etc. And the instructor can help you develop the proper seat to prepare you to have success over jumps. Good luck to you in your new journey!

Yeah me and my mom were talking about getting in a club or something. I think I’ll maybe mention it again to her. Thank you!